Ashley Truluck, current student in the Learning Design and Technology Program, will be traveling to Athens, Greece this summer to present her peer-reviewed poster session titled, “Under Pressure: A Design to Reduce Blood Pressure Reading Errors by Clinical Staff With Virtual Reality Training.” Her work was accepted to the Immersive Learning Research Network Conference, a highly regarded international conference that brings together leading academic researchers, technology innovators, and simulation experts from around the world. Ashley developed the idea in one of her courses, EDIT 772: Virtual Worlds, Augmented Reality and Gaming Simulations, and is so excited to represent George Mason at the conference! Keep reading to learn more about Ashley’s research!
What inspired you to do this research?
“I work at the American College of Cardiology and it has truly inspired me to take heart health very seriously. It is the leading cause of death in the U.S. You can probably think of someone in your life that has a heart related condition. After my immersive learning course with Dr. Wilson, I thought about how I could combine the two things that I was interested in (VR and Cardiology related topics).”
What are some of the key findings or insights emerging from your research so far?
“We still have so much to learn! But that’s sort of the exciting part too. Virtual reality (VR) is a land that we often think of as just entertainment, but it has training and learning value too! You just have to apply an innovators mindset and be open to challenges.”
What impact does this research have on the field?
“There is so much cutting-edge technology that the medical community has access to, but there are some places that might not be able to afford these new technologies. Think about rural hospitals, it might be difficult to get more professional development training. Having a VR training could be more cost and time friendly.”
What impact does this research have on the public?
“We can use better-designed training systems to improve workforce readiness, even in the very fast paced medical community. Instructional design and immersive learning technologies can improve professional training on a larger scale.”
How has our Learning Design and Technology Program supported you in your studies and research?
“Dr. Wilson encouraged me to push myself and helped me to better understand VR systems and their potential in education.”